Best MMA Fighters Ever

The Top Ten

Nobody will reach what Fedor did in his prime, staying 10 years undefeated is hard, and Fedor was a calm, cold and disciplined at same time relentless, brutal, powerful and fast for his size

Quite simply in his prime I never saw a heavyweight that moved like Fedor. People either don't know or forget that he beat all of the best heavyweights at the time. To me he is the best pound-for-pound of all time. I know that people always love to point to Anderson Silva, but when you look at the competition that he's faced in the middleweight division, his body of work is far less impressive than Fedor's. Yes, you can say that Silva has fought all of the top middleweights, but before being knocked out in his last fight because he clowned around, his toughest opponents were probably Sonnen, Henderson, and Franklin. As far as Henderson, if that fight had been fought at light heavy instead of middleweight I think you would have seen a much different outcome. Henderson was past his prime and was beginning to have trouble cutting weight for that divison. He is a much stronger at light heavy. Franklin probably couldn't beat a top 10 opponent in light heavy, while Sonnen is yet to prove ...more

The best ever

No he never fought in the UFC, but he DID fight (and beat) multiple fighters who DID compete there, so that's just as good in a sense. It shouldn't be held against him that those fights didn't take place under the UFC "banner". He fought them, and he beat them. For 10 years he went undefeated. End of story.

2Anderson SilvaAnderson da Silva (born April 14, 1975) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and had the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 and ended in 2013 and included ...read more.

Legend

There is no doubt Silva is the best pound for pound fighter to have ever competed in mixed martial arts. The reason is very simple:He has a huge reach advantage over any opponent;His defense reflexes are superb;His has heavyweight power;His hands are super fast;He's proven to be a great grappler when neccessaryBut most of all, he's an amazing strategist and too good at taking his opponents out of their game plans.

When you have such a great fighter competing, numbers mean nothing (or do they? )...

He wins his fights with ease, sometimes it looks like his opponents are in slow motion. His strikes land with laser precision and power, his submissions are excellent and his conditioning is always top notch.

Fedor can only be 2nd to Silva. Silva is the number one ranked fighter since like 2006, and that is official, and acording to all MMA intelectuals Anderson Silva will go down as the greatest Fighter in MMA history, yes Gracie was good, but when he was around no one had any skill, set they did'nt know jiu jitsu or muay thai, everyone does now, Gracie vs Silva at thier best, Silva wins tko in the first round. Fedor vs Silva, Silva wins by tko in the 2nd round, or unanimous decision. - skullgangjewelz

4Randy CoutureRandall "Randy" Duane Couture is an American actor, retired mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler.

He was best ever,ufc organization have to thank him for bringing such a popularity to the gamr!God bless him.

The Natural doens't walk away from fights, he goes to the most challenging fights, championship fights, tournmant fights, inerium championship fights, and number one contender fights. Randy is the best in the world ever because he is all said and done, he's retired. He is also the most dominate UFC heavyweight fighter ever, and the smartest fighter ever.

He deserves the number 1 spot. They don't call him THE NATURAL for nothing. He may be an underdog in his early career, but you won't see this guy give up. The greatest fighter isn't the one with the best fight record, it is the one with the biggest heart. - aeromaxx777

Just imagine if he had started earlier in life... He could find a way to break or outwit anyone in just minutes.

5Chuck LiddellCharles David "Chuck" Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is an American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Karate, and Kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A professional ...read more.

I would rank Chuck as number 3, this is because he possesses a true heart of a warrior, he always bangs, he would go out there and have a slug fest with any man who has ever lived. And he did have the UFC's best winstreak before Silva came along. He might not be the best technical fighter in the world, but he is not worst by a longshot either. The iceman always brings the fight, he will always give the people a spectacular show, and pretty much single handedly brought MMA and UFC in particular out of the dark underground and into the bright lights. And Dana White recognizes this.

Chuck Liddell should be top 2 or 3 he brought MMA to its place he is a warrior. in 2004 he started in King of the Cage and then retired from King of the Cage in 2010

Singlehandedly revolutionized the sport of MMA. Son of a legendary jiujitsu master Helio Gracie. He also paved the way for today's fighter's especially fighters like Anderson Silva who is a Gracie Jiujitsu student. He was so dominant, they had to change the rules and forbade the wearing of gi's and shirts because it was making people submit too often. His only flaw was that he wasn't the best striker but there is no question he is one of if not the best ever in ground fighting. 19 total fights, 14 wins, 2 losses, 3 draws, 2 KO's, 2 by decision, 12 submits.

C'mon Royce Gracie Was so good at fighting they have to change the rules of fighting! Cause he won to often and quick!.. I can't believe he's not in first or 2nd place.. He could won any of above! Easy! And people know its true

Without Royce and Gracie Jiu Jitsu, there is no UFC. The start of Ultimate Fighting was based on : "What fighting discipline is the best". Royce beat unknown contestants, sometimes several in a night, without studying videos or getting info from others. MMA evolved ONLY because of Royce. You can't discredit his skills against present day fighters, because without him, there would be no MMA.

No weight division, no rules and the creator of ufc. Nothing else to say. He was just that great. War royce!

Possibly the greatest fighter of all time, full stop. Definitely one of the best fighters to watch. His mastery of mma is reinforced by his total brilliance as a scrapper. He is capable of making brutality beautiful. He made his own path to greatness much more "Rocky"(! ) and difficult, but he still achieved that greatness, even despite his mistakes and failings. He is only human, but he is a living legend. I've been privileged to see almost every pro fight he's ever had and I hope he starts to get the recognition he deserves as the greatest, and soon.

Youngest, most creative fighter that has beaten all of the top fighters in his light heavyweight division. He has never been truly beaten against competition that is much better than the past as fighters have gotten better and advanced with time

He's got this in his blood man. He was born a top 5 athlete. His brother has a Super Bowl Ring and he's a Champion. He's a top 10 fighter of all time already.

9Ken ShamrockKenneth Wayne "Ken" Shamrock is an American mixed martial artist, Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer, and professional wrestler.

First ufc superfight champion

After the vendetta with Tito Ortiz, something changed in Ken mentally. Before that however, in his prime he pulled off some of the most jaw dropping victories against some of the most formidable opponents even by today's standards. Also he did it under conditions considerably harsher than today's fighter faces. Less rules and equipment to protect a fighter's safety and much less opportunity to know your opponent. Watch the old pancrase, ufc and pride and you'll see what I mean. The fact that one fighter was able to get into his head when he was already in fact retired and in his forties should Not erase Our memory of All he has done for this sport.

Severn is 52+ yrs old and still completes! Also Dan Severn holds a professional MMA Record of 100-18-7! Beat that ANYONE?!? And is in the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Super fight Champion. The Beast is a legend!

The Contenders

11Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

Best!

Should be further up on list.

Maybe the best striker in mma history people forget how good he was in pride and also has the most brutal kicks ever a true legend

Even Fedor Emelianenko said that he was one of the few fighters that he felt was his equal. One of the toughest guys in the MMA history ever, people forget what a monster he can be, and with this comeback he's making now, he should be much higher on the list. He's 40 and in top shape and is ready to prove it soon.

12Brock LesnarBrock Edward Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, professional American football player, and mixed martial artist who is currently signed to WWE.

Brock Lesnar is the greatest Brock to have ever lived. I'm pretty sure a unicorn would fall over if they ever encountered a Brock Lesnar in the wild. One time if walked to the end of a rainbow, only to get beat up by Brock Lesnar.

He's Brock Lesnar, the coolest guy that ever lived. And Brock Lesnar with a beard is even cooler then Brock Lesnar without a beard. He's so cool.

After his fight fight, he was thrown into the deepest end of the deepest pool, to fight in the UFC against their best champions and after an initial loss because of inexperience and carelessness, he dominated Mir, Heath, and Randy. Then diverticulitis finally struck him down, thus began the fall of the once great dominator.It took him a full year to recover, and when he went up against Carwin, he was a changed man. Still freakishly powerful, but now fear and loss of heart made him weak, and he barely won against Shane. Then he went on to lose against Cain before diverticulitis made him lose another year, and finally, after all this, he fought his final fight against Overeem. The Demolition man struck his weak spot, his stomach, several times before Brock went down, and The Reem secured his win, and Brock retired with a 5-3-0 record.This is Brock Lesnars MMA career in the UFC.

have only watched him on WWE but I know how tough he is - decorulez97

13Ronda RouseyRonda Jean Rousey is an American mixed martial artist, judoka, and actress.She is currently signed to WWE, performing on the Raw brand where she is the current Raw Women's Champion in her first reign. ...read more.

One of the greatest MMA fighters. Did a lot for the sport. Other women were terrified of her and her arm bar. My favorite fight of hers is the absolute annihilation of Cat Zingano in 13 seconds with an innovative arm bar. She almost took out Cat’s arm. Cat Zingano had no appetite for a rematch after that!

While I don't much care for Ronda Rousey, she was vital for increasing the prominence of women in MMA.

She defended her belt 6 times and almost every win she had was in less then a minute. No woman mma fighter will accomplish what she already achieved. Like it or not that's the truth - Sabbath

Humble

14Quinton Rampage Jackson

Rampage is a great fighter don't get me wrong but he is not in the top ten he lost to wonderla silva twice I don't see him on this list he isn't top ten never will be your just dumb

16Conor McgregorConor Anthony McGregor (born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist and boxer. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight champion. ...read more.

Conor will be moving down on here. He's old news - Sabbath

Biggest face

Should be top 5

Conor is much more precise and accurate when compared to other UFC fighters. He also possess so much power in that left hand. It is not fair to say that he's not the greatest because he is the first ever 2 weight champion after his easy victory over alvarez at ufc 205. Conor knocked out one of the greatest in 13 seconds and nobody in combat sports at this moment can sell as many ppv's as he can. The man beat a 170 pound beast although he is a 155 pounder.

BJ penn is an absolute BEAST of a fighter. GSP takes his opponent down and leave him there for the rest of the fight making his fights predicatble. BJ Penn beats the living hell out of his oponents both standing up and on the ground. At the end of the fight, he is perfectly fine while his oponent is a bloody mess with all hope lost.

He should be way on the top. - uZi91

Best LW EVER. PERIOD. Had the lw belt and held the ww belt. Uses his bjj to keep the fight standing.

the most naturally gifted allround fighter ever, in shape could beat anyone

18Michael BispingMichael Bisping is an English actor and mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

If you consider that 3 of his 7 losses were at the hands of athletes using PDFs, he then has 4 losses out of 34 UFC fights - a truly extraordinary record, nearly unmatched! Like or don't like Bisping - you can not change the fact and any true MMA fan recognizes his accomplishments. He is one of few top MMA athletes in the world who has competed at the highest level in the sport for over a decade 1994 to present. Only a few elite MMA athletes can match his ongoing, active record.

Should at least be top 20 true warrior 👊🏻

19Tito Ortiz

Longest reigning light heavyweight champ of all time. Give the man the credit he deserves. He is the biggest villain in mma history and helped make the sport what it is today.

He is probably one of the fighter who has the bes skill set in MMA. He has a very dangerous ground and wicked stand up. What really defeats him is that there are much more stronger fighter than he is. But skill wise I think he is one of the best.

21Khabib NurmagomedovKhabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist of Avar ethnicity. Nurmagomedov is a two-time Combat Sambo World Champion and the reigning undisputed UFC Lightweight Champion. He currently holds the longest undefeated streak in MMA, with 27 ...read more.

Not only is he a funny guy, but he whoop anybody's butt and make it look like a piece of cake!

23Frankie EdgarFrank James "Frankie" Edgar is an American mixed martial artist from New Jersey who competes as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion.

He defined the future of MMA in his career with unstoppable striking and developing one of the best ground games ever. His counter punching was target focused. Meaning he was striking to hit vital body parts and not just striking to get points.

Great Striker, medium wrestler and a tough chin. Worth the show! He lays waste to most of his opponents.

#20 cigano was such a beast list is far off

The best boxer in the mma, the best punches and well targered, all victories by knowout, well almos

26B.J. Penn

Best boxing and ground game in mma period well in his prime but his jujitsu is remarkable and was a title holder when that division was the toughest he fought hard and fought the best I think he should be 5 or 6 easy

Very good at 155 but there are alota guys at that weight who pos a threat.

Cruz combines constant lateral motion with precise, in-and-out striking. Known as one of the most agile fighters in MMA, he is noted for his quick footwork, head movement, and use of feints. He often attacks with combinations, step-in jabs, and single strikes thrown from angles. In addition to his striking, Cruz has extensive training in amateur wrestling.

One word: footwork

28Kimbo Slice Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice, was a Bahamian-born American mixed martial artist, boxer and occasional actor.

Kimbo slice is a chicken heart. Best fight the back alley circuit.

how is kimbo slice not in the top 10? this guy is amazing - mike2fristick

He's a hard hitter but he's not a MMA professional - Sabbath

29Dan Henderson

My fav middleweight! if he can get back to his old self and keep doing as he did at ufc 100 he very well could have a shot at beating the middle weight champ.

The one guy who'd never tap out ever! A true legend in ufc and pride history

Every one has their day may be some longer than others and then comes that strange mental feeling douting your self once you let the dout in its over you will never be the same don't kid your self no more to prove you will get over it let the ego go man. Dan Henderson had his day wasn't he great

Rampage is not betterthan hendo idiots

30Antonio Nogueira

The only man who ever had both PRIDE and UFC championship belt. He always be my hero.

Technical fighter with a great gound game

31Rickson Gracie

Rickson not being number 1 on everyone's list shows the lack of intelligence and limited exposure to the fighters beyond about a 5 yr period. The man never lost. Over 400 fights without a loss. Who can even imagine something like that. Royce was proclaimed the greatest fighter in the world after UFC 2 in the post fight interview. Royce laughed and said, my brother Rickson is a lot better than me. Come on people 16th behind people like kimbo slice. That is an insult.

Completely dominated the sport in his prime. Royce was ranked # 7 in the Gracie family. Rickson was ranked#1. Royce was just better known in the U.S. rickson was known internationally as the best!

THE best fighter in the history of mma! If any of you guys knew mma before 5 years ago you would know and respect the name RICKSON! - bransuave

I don't like this weightclass but this guy is scary good. real fast and all around a great fighter.

33Kazushi Sakuraba

A man who should have fought his entire career at 170, instead made a living fighting lhws and hws... And winning more often then not. It seemed at times Pride was trying to kill him with the matchups, but he always came to fight and put on a show for the crowd and provided some of the best finishes in mma history.

Why royce gracie in to the top ten, but the "GRACIE HUNTER" isn't? I mean, he called GRACIE HUNTER for a reason

Its sad that the later mma fans do not know about Saku. Take one look at his record and he's discounted. But he was the most innovative and fighter and had great heart. In terms of skill and creativity combine no one could beat Saku in his Heyday. The guy fought all comers, regardless of weight and style.

This guy is always getting better and has a big fight coming up at ufc 101. he is allaround a great fighter.

best

35Keith Jardine

He does not belong on this list especially. Almost 20 fighters ranked below him are better - Sabbath

Great showman ok fighter

36Jose AldoJosé Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior (born September 9, 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the fourth and final WEC Featherweight Champion, becoming the first UFC Featherweight Champion after the UFC/WEC merger. He is a former three-time ...read more.

Casual fans just know Aldo getting knocked out by a fighter that became a paper champion while Aldo defended multiple times - Sabbath

Never lost at featherweight in a career stretching over 11 years. His 1 loss was at lightweight, which also was 10 years ago. He has dominated elite fighters with his super technical abilities and has one of the longest streaks of defending the belt. It is a disgrace that he isn't higher on the list. It makes the list seem like a joke, he is at least top 5.

Aldo still is a better champion then Conor who doesn't defend his belt like he should - Sabbath

39Demetrious JohnsonDemetrious Khrisna Johnson is an American wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is the first and current Flyweight Champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and currently holds the longest active championship reign at 8 title defenses.

Should be at least top 10. He's currently the only Flyweight champion holder - Mcgillacuddy

He should be number 1 by far. Nobody in human history comes close to the level of skill Mighty Mouse has.

40Urijah FaberUrijah Christopher Faber (born May 14, 1979) is a retired American mixed martial artist and actor who fought as a bantamweight and featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Faber won the WEC Featherweight Championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006, and held the title for over two years until ...read more.

Urijah shows the umph and the balls to compete with any weigh class. Urijah is just cool, he is like the Fonze of all mma guys. Well known throughout the ranks, Urijah Faber is always a contender and always a draw for any fight that he is involved in. My wife and I have named our son Gabriel Urijah Finch in honor of Urijah Faber since we have such confidence in him. Come'on, Cool character, he's a fighter, he's a lover, he's an awesome role model, Urijah Faber is a fighter that dads, moms, as well as sons/daughters as well as children can root for... In order to further their cause. Thanks Urijah for dominating the whole field of competition. YOU are blatantly Number 1'... P.S. we named our child after you for a reason... Just do it! We will always by proud of you and Gabriel Urijah Finch. Keep kicking ass!

Could be the best 145er in the world

41Nate DiazNathan Donald "Nate" Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Diaz is the younger brother of former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and WEC Welterweight Champion, Nick Diaz. Prior to signing with the UFC, ...read more.